Man asked girl (14) to bring little sister along for threesome sex

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to defilement in November 2012 and to soliciting a child to engage in a sexual act on the same date

A Meath man who used Facebook to try to solicit a 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old sister to have sex with him has been jailed for three years.

The 22-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his victims' identities, met with the older girl on three occasions and carried out sexual acts.

Transcripts from Facebook conversations showed he tried to convince her to bring her sister along on one occasion, saying they "could train her".

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to defilement in November 2012 and to soliciting a child to engage in a sexual act on the same date.

The girls' mother told the court in a victim impact report that she will never feel safe for her children again.

She said her older daughter's childhood was ruined by the man and that he inflicted "an extra cruelty" on her by waiting so long to plead guilty.

She had to prepare the child to give evidence in court, which led to panic attacks.

Judge Patricia Ryan said the abuse was planned and premeditated. She noted the age difference between the victims and the man, but also took into account his lack of previous convictions and his guilty plea.

She imposed a five-year sentence with the final two years suspended. She also ordered that he be registered as a sex offender and that he undergo 18 months probation supervision on his release.

A garda sergeant told Carl Hanahoe, prosecuting, that the man made contact with the 14-year-old on Facebook and they arranged to meet up. They kissed and she later performed oral sex on him.

Secret

Further sexual contact occurred during a second meeting. The girl then deleted her Facebook account and was forbidden by her mother to set up a new one. However, the girl set up a new account in secret and resumed contact with the man.

During one online conversation, they planned to meet up and he asked her if she could bring someone to "have a threesome with". The girl said she didn't think any of her friends would agree to this.

The man then suggested she bring her 12-year-old sister. The girl refused. The man pressed the issue and suggested they "could train her", but the girl refused. He and the older sister then met a third time where there was further sexual contact.

A complaint was later made to gardai and the man tried to flee but was quickly caught.

The sergeant said that during interview the man "tried to shift the emphasis" on to the girl. He claimed she had initiated the sexual acts and that he felt sorry for her. The man told gardai he was joking when he made reference to the girl's sister.

Defence counsel Derek Kinneally accepted there had been a delay in pleading guilty, but said his client now accepted the allegations. He said the man had started a sex offender course with One in Four and that he was judged by the Probation Service as being at a moderate risk of re-offending.